Little British Roadster Given Muscle Car Makeover With Mustang V8

The MGB isn’t exactly renowned for its performance. First launched in 1962, the British-built MGB Roadster came with a modest 1.8-liter engine that delivered 85 hp and a 0-60 mph time in a hair-raising 12 seconds – adequate for 1960’s standards, but pretty under-powered today. Well, someone has attempted to modernize the MGB. How, you might ask? By fitting it with a 5.0-liter V8 engine from a Ford Mustang. And it can be yours, just in time for the holiday season.

Available for $14,500 in Stockton, California, a listing on Craigslist details that the 1971 MGB roadster has been fitted with a 5.0-liter High Output V8 from a 1992 Ford Mustang. It comes with a 5-speed T5 manual transmission and 8-inch Ford rear axle with 3.25:1 gears and Traction-Lok. The extra weight means that it tips the scales at 1900 pounds, but it has 300 lb-ft of torque, making it “extremely quick and an absolute blast to drive”. It’s in great condition too, apart from a “mild bulge in the hood." MG did experiment with more powerful engines in the past, but this came at a cost: the 2.9-liter MGC had more power, but the extra weight had an adverse effect on the handling and was universally panned by the press at the time.

So, you can probably imagine how the MGB Roadster will handle with a 5.0-liter V8 Mustang engine. Saying that, the sportier MG GT V8 had a 3.5-liter V8 engine but didn’t require any alterations to the chassis so the handling didn’t suffer. Shame it was never sold in the US.